Diverse racial and ethnic groups as well as individuals with disabilities and/or socially, economically, or educationally disadvantaged backgrounds are underrepresented in the field of science, including areas related to drug abuse and addiction research. Hunter College of the City University of New York (CUNY) recognizes that increasing the number of highly qualified scientists in drug abuse and addiction research from these diverse populations is integral to our future growth as an academic and research institution. Our interest in continuing the current success of the DIDARP Program at Hunter emerged from the natural intersection of current DIDARP faculty and new faculty research initiatives as well as the desire of other faculty and students from diverse populations to enter the field of drug abuse research. During this funding cycle, our goal is to expand our drug abuse research infrastructure, solidify our training program, and build on our past successes to further develop our research group into a translational center to understand the contributions of male and female sex in drug abuse and addiction. We have identified specific initiatives for the next 5 years which are built on present research strengths but will expand our scope by means of a plan to develop a comprehensive research and training program that will enhance Hunter's drug abuse research infrastructure. Our goals are to (1) encourage students from diverse populations to pursue drug abuse research careers by providing them with educational enrichment and research experience, (2) provide participating faculty from diverse groups support for their research initiatives and other professional developmental activities, and (3) strengthen the underlying institutional infrastructure and development needed to support drug abuse research.